HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- The Huntsville school district's former chief financial officer will continue to get paid to help the district's financial staff.

Frank Spinelli resigned his post Sept. 20 after 13 months with the city school district. That same night, the school board approved a contract with "Cadri Consultant" to provide support for the new CFO and other finance staff. Spinelli's LinkedIn profile lists him as a consultant for a company called Cadre Consulting.

Keith Ward, a spokesman for Huntsville City Schools, confirmed today that the two are the same company. He pointed out that Superintendent Casey Wardynski told the school board on Sept. 20 that Spinelli would be available to consult with Jason Taylor, the district's chief of finance, who is handling Spinelli's former duties until a CFO is chosen.

"They wanted him to be able to still assist the district," Ward said. "This is a way for him to stay on for a while."

Ward said the amount of time Spinelli will be helping the school system will vary.

"It may be a few hours this week, maybe none the next week," Ward said.

The contract with Cadre Consulting allows the district to pay the company from $85 to $175 an hour for up to five hours a week, according to the temporary agreements approved by the board Sept. 20. Five hours would be equivalent to $425 to $875 a week.

The annual total for the contract under those terms could go as high as $45,500 a year. The contract with Cadre is for four years.

It can be terminated, however, with just 15 days' notice, according to the temporary agreements.

Spinelli was hired in August 2011, a month after Wardynski became superintendent, for a three-year contract worth $130,000 per year. A former consultant for both the Colorado Department of Education and the Aurora, Colo., school system, Spinelli followed Wardynski to Huntsville.

Wardynski himself was CFO of the Aurora school system for about 10 months before coming to Huntsville.